Razorbacks Have Hagen Smith Starting Series, Vandy Ace Not

Hogs coach Dave Van Horn placing lot of importance on first game of series Friday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn going with Hagen Smith on Friday to start series against South Carolina wasn't surprising. Vanderbilt's normal starter is staying home in Nashville was.

Will Sanders has been the regular No. 1 guy in the rotation for the Commodores, but a lower body injury will leave at home to balance the loss of the guy whom the Razorbacks assumed would be the first-day starter before a preseason injury in Jaxon Wiggins.

It is becoming obvious the importance Van Horn is putting getting off to a positive start in a series where the winner likely will be in the group for a possible Top 8 seeding in the NCAA Tournament, which could put the Hogs in a hosting sport for a Super Regional matchup.

Yeah, there may be a lot riding on that first game.

"We’re going to do what we’ve got to do to win Friday," Van Horn said Thursday. "We’ll TBA it on Sunday as well. Probably after the game [Friday] I’ll be able to give you a Saturday starter, then obviously we pretty much know who’s going to throw on Sunday if he’s feeling good."

What that means is getting a solid six or seven innings from Smith on Friday night could set up the entire staff for a big weekend, showing how important Friday starts are this time of the year.

That kind of talk puts Brady Tygart in the discussion after he's delivered a couple of good starts with Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs bringing him back slowly from a sprained elbow. Tygart look solid in his second post injury start last Saturday on the road against Mississippi State. He threw just 20 pitches in the first two innings before a long delay between innings convinced the staff to shut him down in favor of side work in the bullpen.

Tygart is square in the middle of that discussion now because of those two solid starts. Now the Hogs can look at the situation a little more and worry less about the pitch count.

As for the injured players, Van Horn didn't sound very positive on Jared Wegner and Peyton Stovall playing this weekend and they are still waiting to see with Tavian Josenberger. Wegner reportedly got pins removed from his finger earlier this week and Stovall is still battling inflammation in his shoulder. Josenberger was on the roster last week for possible use, but Van Horn opted to give him an extra week to continue rehabbing his hamstring.

The Hogs and Gamecocks will start maybe the biggest series of the season Friday night at 6:30 on SEC Network+.

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